Objective:To investigate the effect of Ermiao Recipe(二妙方,EMR)with medicinal guide Angelicae Pubescentis Radix(APR)on the homing of bone marrow stem cells(BMSCs)to focal zone in osteoarthritis(OA)rats.Methods:Forty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to the sham-operated,model,EMR,and EMR plus APR groups(12 rats in each group).The OA rat model was induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection and medial meniscus resection.All rats were injected with recombinant human granulocyte colonystimulating factor[rhG-CSF,30μg/(kg-d)for continuous 7 days],and rats in the EMR and EMR plus APR groups were treated with EMR or EMR plus APR at 1.6 or 1.9 g/(kg·d)for 3 or 6 weeks,respectively.Cartilage histopathologic changes were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining.Chondrocytes apoptosis and cartilage matrix components were tested by transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling assay and special staining,lnterleukin-1 B(IL-1β),tumor necrosis factorα(TNF-α),bone morphogenetic protein 2(BMP-2),and transforming growth factor beta-1(TGF-β_1)in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or radioimmunoassay assay.Matrix metalloproteinase(MMP)-13,tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase(TIMP)-1,bromodeoxyuridine(BrdU),cluster of differentiation 34(CD34),and stromal cell derived factor 1(SDF-1)were measured by immunohistochemistry assay.Results:EMR and EMR plus APR significantly inhibited articular cartilage damage and synovium inflammation in OA rats at 3 or 6 weeks of treatment,the most obvious changes in these parameters were found in the EMR plus APR group.At 6 weeks,compared with EMR treatment,EMR plus APR remarkably inhibited chondrocytes apoptosis and the release of IL-1βand TNF-α,obviously decreased MMP-13 expression,and significantly increased expressions of proteoglycan,collagen,typeⅡcollagen and TIMP-1,serum levels of BMP-2 and TGF-β_1 as well as expressions of BrdU,CD34 and SDF-1 in cartilage articular(P<0.01 or P<0.05).Conclusion:The medicinal guide APR improved the therapeutic effects of EMR on OA rats by promoting directional homing of BMSCs to focal zone. Objective: To investigate the effect of Ermiao Recipe (medicinal guide Electrolyte Pubescentis Radix (APR) on the homing of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs) to focal zone in osteoarthritis (OA) rats. Methods: Forty- Eight Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to the sham-operated, model, EMR, and EMR plus APR groups (12 rats in each group). OA rat model was induced by anterior cruciate ligament transection and medial meniscus resection. injected with recombinant human granulocyte colonystimulating factor [rhG-CSF, 30 μg / (kg-d) for continuous 7 days], and rats in the EMR and EMR plus APR groups were treated with EMR or EMR plus APR at 1.6 or 1.9 g / ( kg · d) for 3 or 6 weeks, respectively. Cartilage histopathologic changes were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Chondrocytes apoptosis and cartilage matrix components were tested by transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling assay and special staining, lnterleukin-1 B (IL-1β), tumor necrosis f (TNF-α), bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), and transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β_1) in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or radioimmunoassay assay. Matrix metalloproteinase , tissue of of metalloproteinase (TIMP) -1, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), cluster of differentiation 34 (CD34), and stromal cell derived factor 1 (SDF-1) were measured by immunohistochemistry assay. Results: EMR and EMR plus APR articular cartilage damage and synovium inflammation in OA rats at 3 or 6 weeks of treatment, the most obvious changes in these parameters were found in the EMR plus APR group. At 6 weeks, compared with EMR treatment, EMR plus APR remarkably inhibited chondrocytes apoptosis and the release of IL-1 β and TNF-α, significantly decreased MMP-13 expression, and significantly increased expressions of proteoglycan, collagen, type II collagen and TIMP-1, serum levels of BMP-2 and TGF- and SDF-1 in cartilage articul ar (P <0.01 or P <0.05) .Conlusion: The medicinal guide APR improved the therapeutic effects of EMR on OA rats by promoting directional homing of BMSCs to focal zone.